Behind on tasting notes again, but alas…
This is a new holiday blend for the year, and it’s exclusive to only Super Steepers. There have been a few Frequent Steeper only teas this year so far (Forever Frosty, and Hazelnut Chocolate) but this is the first only for Super Steepers…
Y’all know I don’t love Chai so it’s safe to say this isn’t my jam. I do really love the name of it though – and that’s not a humble brag, because I didn’t have anything to do with the naming of this blend. I just think it’s really cute, and I’m also all for more Chai throughout the year instead of it all being bunched into a few months. Of course, that’s pretty wishful thinking because so many people still view Autumn as “Chai Season” but a girl can dream, right!?
Anyone who remembers White Chocolate Chai from a few years ago will have a pretty good idea of what this Chai is like – they’re different but very similar. Same more traditional mix of Chai spices (heavier on the ginger and cardamom) mixed with a creamy note from the white chocolate curls. I think this is more spiced that White Chocolate Chai, with more ginger and a peppery undertone from the peppercorns throughout. I haven’t found anyone else who agrees with me about this, but something in the blend also really vaguely reminds me of cola – I think it’s just the citrusy notes of the cardamom mixing with the other spices because cola is basically just citrus and spice. The sweetness of the white chocolate hangs in the mouth after each sip, carried throughout the cup by the stevia…
I guess a quick note on stevia – I get that it’s a really polarizing ingredient even though I don’t personally have an adverseness to the flavour. I also, on a personal level, prefer that teas don’t include stevia or other forms of sweeteners (sugar, sprinkles, blackberry leaf – to name a few) because I think people are capable of sweetening their own tea if they want.
With that said, if you look at the most popular/best selling teas from the last few years most of them do have stevia in them – so clearly there are a large number people who either don’t care or even enjoy/want that level of sweetness. It’s frustrating for sure, but at least for me I have to remember that it’s demand that drives direction and so… if stevia keeps selling, the odds are it’s going to keep being used. This is a big area of conflict for me personally when it comes to tea development, and I’ve debated back and forth saying something about it or not because I know how polarizing stevia is…
But that’s just where I stand on stevia, and how I think about it.
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
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I’m a stevia fan, but I also sweeten my teas a ton automatically so I guess to me personally it doesn’t matter if companies pre-sweeten or not since I always like my teas even sweeter.
What about selling two versions of a blend – one with stevia, one without?
I also think that stevia is one of those ingredients that ages terribly, which could be part of the reason I dislike stevia (though that’s my fault for keeping teas around forever.)
Thank you for your thoughts on stevia. Here is mine/general ramblings..
So I am finding that I generally prefer no stevia put in the tea. I am not allergic and there are teas (DT and not DT) that I like and dislike with stevia. I, like tea-sipper, keep my teas for a long time so there is that. I also I prefer to drink my teas plain(hot, cold-steeped, or as a hot/cold latte).. I rarely put any sweetener in them.
As far as DT is concerned, Goji Green & Magic Potion are two that come to mind that’d I’d probably enjoy if it wasn’t for stevia (or Just Peachy for the blackberry leaf?). But there are other blends I don’t mind it (can’t think of any specific examples). Since 2016 I’ve owned/tried most of the flavors that have come out.
But for 2020 I’ve not tried the majority of the blends that have come out this year because they’ve sold out too quickly or I’m not interested in the profiles. I do have to say that with SO MANY FALL/WINTER/HOLIDAY flavors that DT has put out since Sept(?) the shopping cart I have right now is basically 1 kilo of cranberry pear and maybe half dozen teas 1 bag worth just to try them and stevia helped me knock some off my cart even though I’d probably enjoy the tea (chocolate chip cookie comes to mind).
Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramble. :)
I’m a stevia fan, but I also sweeten my teas a ton automatically so I guess to me personally it doesn’t matter if companies pre-sweeten or not since I always like my teas even sweeter.
What about selling two versions of a blend – one with stevia, one without?
I also think that stevia is one of those ingredients that ages terribly, which could be part of the reason I dislike stevia (though that’s my fault for keeping teas around forever.)
Thank you for your thoughts on stevia. Here is mine/general ramblings..
So I am finding that I generally prefer no stevia put in the tea. I am not allergic and there are teas (DT and not DT) that I like and dislike with stevia. I, like tea-sipper, keep my teas for a long time so there is that. I also I prefer to drink my teas plain(hot, cold-steeped, or as a hot/cold latte).. I rarely put any sweetener in them.
As far as DT is concerned, Goji Green & Magic Potion are two that come to mind that’d I’d probably enjoy if it wasn’t for stevia (or Just Peachy for the blackberry leaf?). But there are other blends I don’t mind it (can’t think of any specific examples). Since 2016 I’ve owned/tried most of the flavors that have come out.
But for 2020 I’ve not tried the majority of the blends that have come out this year because they’ve sold out too quickly or I’m not interested in the profiles. I do have to say that with SO MANY FALL/WINTER/HOLIDAY flavors that DT has put out since Sept(?) the shopping cart I have right now is basically 1 kilo of cranberry pear and maybe half dozen teas 1 bag worth just to try them and stevia helped me knock some off my cart even though I’d probably enjoy the tea (chocolate chip cookie comes to mind).
Anyway, thanks for listening to my ramble. :)